Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Sandra Yi ReportingProsecutors have filed murder charges against a Brigham City woman accused of shooting her husband over the weekend.
LaRae Epps: "We were sound asleep and we heard this big loud boom."
The sound startled LaRae Epps, but what she saw out the window shocked her more.
LaRae Epps: "I saw somebody laying on the lawn, handcuffed, and then a girl on the porch, handcuffed. And they carried somebody out on a stretcher, so you knew it wasn't good."
Vicki Ruiz had called 9-1-1, asking for an ambulance. She told dispatchers her husband had been shot.
Lt. Michael Nelsen: "She did say that she was the shooter."
Officers found the victim, John Ruiz, inside a motor home parked on the property. He had been shot once in the chest. His wife was arrested for murder.
Lt. Michael Nelsen, Brigham City Police Dept.: "I did see her just shortly after questioning, and she was very distraught, very upset, and very emotional."
Police say two of the couple's friends may have witnessed the murder. A 15-year old girl, who is not related to the family, was also in the house sleeping. They were at the home for a get together.
Lt. Michael Nelsen: "It was just a get together where everybody was watching a boxing match on the television."
Police say people were drinking and the couple began to argue. Investigators say Ruiz accused her husband of cheating on her. LaRae Epps couldn't believe it. She says the couple always looked out for her father.
LaRae Epps: "You see him three or four days ago and you're hugging them, cause they're checking in on your dad, and you see something like this, it makes it hard."
Family members told police the couple was having problems. But police have only been called to the home once, two years ago. The shooting is the first domestic-related murder in Brigham City, since 1982.
